


more than just our bodies at night

by thegrayness



Category: Schitt's Creek (TV) RPF
Genre: A lot of kissing, Cuddling & Snuggling, Getting Together, Goodbyes, Kissing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:47:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrayness/pseuds/thegrayness
Summary: After celebratory drinks on the last day of filming, Dan and Noah leave together.
Relationships: Dan Levy/Noah Reid
Comments: 11
Kudos: 84





	more than just our bodies at night

**Author's Note:**

> This fic brought to you by:
> 
> Liz for validation  
> TINN for validation, beta, AND title.
> 
> Title from Beyond by Leon Bridges.

It’s tradition, is the thing. When he and Andrew co-direct an episode, they go to a bar, Dan makes a toast, then Andrew makes a toast on the next round, then they have a third round and they each go home tipsy and pleased with the work they’ve done. 

Today is different. 

Today is the last day they’ll ever celebrate wrapping an episode of Schitt’s Creek that they co-directed. 

Dan’s been crying all day, along with most of the cast. He wakes up crying. He cries when he meets Noah in the hotel lobby and he cries on their way to basecamp. He cries for five minutes before he even gets out of the car, with Noah’s hand on his shoulder from the back seat, heavy and warm and solid. A comfort even though he feels like he can’t be comforted at a time like this. 

After no less than 45 hugs from everyone, some people twice and thrice, he steps up to Noah, who is off to the side chatting with Sarah. As soon as she looks up and sees him approaching, she wraps Noah in a hug, waves in lieu of a sixth one for Dan, and heads off to the group drinking champagne. 

Noah’s looking at him, the way he does when he thinks Dan is upset, and before the tears can even spill over Noah is wrapping him up in a warm hug, his arms tucking up under Dan’s arms, his hands spread wide on Dan’s back. Dan can feel the heat from Noah’s palms through his thin dress shirt as he wraps his own arms around Noah’s shoulders. 

They stand there and Dan cries some more, and he feels Noah’s shoulders shake twice, but that’s it, then he’s back to being the most solid rock Dan has ever leaned on. Noah holds him for a while, until he feels like he can breathe without hiccuping out another sob, and he gives Noah a squeeze to let him know. 

“You ready?” Noah murmurs into his ear. 

Dan clears his throat a few times to make sure he can speak. “Mm hm,” is all he manages, and it doesn’t instill much confidence, he can tell, because Noah huffs out a short laugh against his neck. 

“We can keep going,” Noah offers, but Dan shakes his head as best he can with his chin tucked into the crook of Noah’s shoulder. 

“No.” He clears his throat again. “No, I’m okay. I can—I’ll be okay.”

Noah kisses his cheek as they pull back, something he’s taken to doing these last few days of filming. It’s not unwelcome and it’s just like Noah to add another affectionate note to their friendship. “That’s a wrap, Daniel.” He’s grinning like he does when he’s trying to distract Dan from something, and Dan is so grateful to be surrounded by so many friends, to have accomplished this with so many people he loves.

Dan laughs and wipes his eyes. “Can you believe it?” He croaks. 

Noah’s hands slip to Dan’s waist and he gives him a squeeze. “‘Course I can.” 

Dan rolls his eyes, because he can’t respond to that, can’t deal with Noah’s earnest face in the midst of the emotional… situation he’s currently going through. 

He steps out of Noah’s arms in time to see Andrew walking over from basecamp across the street. He must be ready to leave for the bar. 

“I’ll text you—“ Dan starts to tell Noah, intending to say goodbye. 

“Noah, you joining us at the bar?” Andrew asks, smiling wide and clapping him on the shoulder. Dan narrows his eyes. What is Andrew doing, exactly?

Noah’s eyebrows, visible from this distance, make an adorably confused shape and he glances back at Dan. “Uh—I’m not sure… am I invited?”

Dan looks at Andrew, who has a glint in his eyes that Dan can’t say he cares for. “‘Course.” Andrew shrugs, grinning at them both. “You guys change, I’ll get the car,” he says, as if he hasn’t derailed Dan’s entire plan of weeping his way through three Negronis before pouring himself into a rideshare and heading back to the hotel to weep even more, before heading home tomorrow.

Noah looks at Dan. “Is… is it okay that I crash your… thing?” He asks, looking genuinely concerned. He rests his hand on Dan’s shoulder. 

_No, definitely not, I need space if I’m ever going to get over you!_ Dan doesn’t say that, though. He smiles through a fresh wave of tears fueled in part by champagne now and nods. “Sure,” he says, voice hoarse. “Why not?”

Noah smiles, wide enough for his teeth to show, and gives Dan’s shoulder a squeeze. “Great. See you in a bit?”

Dan nods, and Noah walks away. 

Then Dan buries his face in his hands for a moment, trying to compose himself. 

*

Andrew leaves them both in a booth while he goes to buy the first round, even though Dan had said in the car that he would cover their drinks for the night. Noah bumps their shoulders together and grins as Dan grumbles about being a good showrunner. “Don’t start crying again, but you’re technically just our friend now.” Dan glares at him and he just winks back. “Just sayin’.”

Andrew returns shortly with their drinks and Dan makes them both promise to let him pay for the rest of the night, and they do so begrudgingly—Noah grinning behind his beer glass and Andrew looking smug as he sips his drink. Dan narrows his eyes at Andrew. That look can’t be good. 

Nothing comes of it though, they talk about the show, about the last season, about what’s next. Dan tries to hold in his tears, but ends up making very unattractive snorting noises while Noah gently pats his back and Andrew wipes subtly at his own eyes. “Another round?” Dan says wetly, shoving at Noah’s shoulder to let him out of the booth. 

“I’m actually going to head out,” Andrew says, picking his phone up off the table and slipping it into his pocket. 

“What? We’ve only had one round!” This is absolutely unacceptable, Andrew is ruining their last night, their last time doing _this_ and Dan can’t believe—

“We can handle two rounds by ourselves, I think,” Noah says, nudging his shoulder into Dan’s again. 

Dan doesn’t say anything, can’t think of anything to say that isn’t pathetic, so instead he stands to say goodbye. He and Noah hug Andrew in turns, and then Dan hugs him again for good measure.

“You got this,” Andrew whispers into Dan’s ear as he pulls out of the second hug, and Dan looks at him in confusion. Andrew bobs his eyebrows a few times and gently tilts his head towards where Noah is already sitting back in the booth. Dan turns to look at Noah, who is typing something on his phone, and by the time he faces forward again, Andrew is walking towards the door.

Shaking his head of that weird exchange, Dan heads to the bar to grab the next round—he’s determined to have three. It’s tradition, dammit. 

“Here we go,” he says, setting down Noah's beer and moving to sit on the bench across from Noah. 

“Hey,” Noah says, patting the seat next to him. 

Dan hesitates. It was… the thing is that Dan had plausible deniability when there were three of them. Two of them had to sit on one side of the booth and it _just so happened_ to be Dan and Noah. Now that it’s just the two of them, it looks… well it looks like _something_. 

“What? I saved you this seat,” Noah says with a grin. Dan can’t very well say no to _that,_ can he?

He slides in next to Noah, trying to tilt his body so he’s turned toward him. He leans an elbow on the table and brings his drink closer to take a sip from his straw. Noah doesn’t say anything, just watches him as he takes a sip of his own drink. “So what—”

Dan’s cut off by his phone buzzing on the table, lighting up with a text from Andrew. He probably left his hat or something. Dan leans over to glance at his phone to unlock it and read the message. 

_TAKE HIM HOME_ , it says, followed by a few emojis that make Dan flush. 

“... What is it?” Noah asks, voice hesitant. Dan whips his head to look at him. He looks earnest and hopeful and a little scared and it makes Dan wonder what Noah _thinks_ the text is about. He turns the phone towards Noah, lets him read it for himself, and bites his lips to hide a smile as Noah’s expression turns from curious and open to confused and skeptical as he leans in to read the message.

“Who?” Noah says, and then looks over Dan’s shoulder as if Andrew sent a kind and beautiful stranger to sweep Dan off his feet. 

“ _Noah_ ,” Dan says, disbelief coloring his tone. Noah blinks at him and Dan stares back, hoping Noah’s brain gets with the program sooner rather than later. 

Noah must realize, because he presses their shoulders together and hides a smile into the rim of his glass. “Let’s finish our drinks,” he mumbles, and Dan watches the flush spread over his cheeks and down his neck.

“Okay,” Dan answers, taking another sip of his own. 

It’s not that Dan thinks Noah _doesn’t_ want to do… this. Their level of flirting is basically just, “I can’t wait to do this for real,” by now, and they’ve just been waiting for the right time, and Dan can't think of any reason why _this_ shouldn’t be it. Surely they’ve waited long enough?

Dan is lost in his own though, free hand resting on his own leg, when he feels Noah’s fingertips along the back of his hand, slipping under his palm to clasp their hands together. He squeezes Dan’s hand once and Dan looks over. Noah’s eyes are dark and intense, which isn’t uncommon—being on this end of that gaze is life-changing and Dan’s still not used to it, after three years. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Noah says, and his voice is calm and steady, but Dan hears the urgency all the same. Noah tilts his head towards the door. 

“Okay,” Dan breathes, and finishes his drinks in a big gulp, not caring that they won’t have the final traditional drink. He stands awkwardly because Noah won’t let go of his hand, and then Noah pulls him toward the door and out into the warm night. 

*

Dan can tell Noah wants to fool around in the car. He keeps running his hands through his hair, keeps staring at Dan when he thinks Dan isn’t looking, shifting his hips and adjusting his position, sliding his hand across the space between them but pulling it back before his fingers make contact with Dan’s leg. The third time he does it, Dan covers Noah’s hand with his own, fitting their palms together and tangling their fingers. He glances over to see Noah smiling down at his lap and Dan leans his elbow against the car door to hide his own grin in his other hand. 

When they pull up in front of the hotel, Noah refuses to let go of his hand, choosing instead to drag him across the backseat so they can both exit from Noah’s side, closest to the building. Stumbling out onto the sidewalk, Dan practically trips right into Noah’s arms and Noah catches him accordingly. It’s so stomach-swoopy that Dan thinks briefly that Noah orchestrated the whole exit strategy so Dan would end up right here about to swoon.

Dan thinks Noah is leaning in to kiss him right there on the sidewalk, but he misses Dan’s mouth and reaches his ear. “Take me home,” he whispers, and Dan fists the fabric of Noah’s t-shirt where his hands landed on his hips after he stumbled out of the car. He feels Noah’s lips graze the stubble on his cheek, and his skin tingles even when Noah pulls back to get them moving towards the entrance. 

They manage the trip to the elevators okay, hands brushing together as they walk side-by-side through the lobby. Dan can’t keep the smile off his face, and eventually he stops trying. They both reach for the button to call the elevator and end up pushing it at the same time, giggling like some high schoolers at the movies reaching for the same piece of popcorn. 

Dan glances at Noah out of the corner of his eye and watches him rub the back of his neck with his free hand, reveling in the thrill it gives him—the fact that Noah might be _nervous_. He reaches out to give Noah’s hand a quick squeeze, and then the elevator doors are sliding open and they step on. 

When they step off on Dan’s floor, Noah walks quickly down the hallway and tugs Dan along. Dan bites his lip, staying another smile, until Noah nearly blows right past the door to Dan’s room. “Here,” Dan says quietly, pulling Noah back a few feet and sliding his room key out of his pocket with his free hand. He gets it on the first try, even with Noah standing practically on top of him. 

He’s pinned to the back of the hotel room door before he can even put down his key card, and even the sound of it clattering to the floor isn’t enough to pull their attention from each other. Noah’s arm goes around Dan’s waist, the other slips to the back of his neck.

There’s a lamp on in the far corner of the room, and it lets off just enough light for Dan to make out the soft expression on Noah’s face. Dan is sure his face looks the same, or at least, he hopes it does. “I—” He starts. He doesn’t know how to finish, but Noah nods anyway. 

“Me, too,” he breathes. They’re so close that Dan feels Noah’s breath on his own lips and he sways forward a bit, all but begging Noah to meet him halfway. 

Noah presses their foreheads together instead, his eyes fluttering closed as he takes a deep breath. Dan makes a desperate noise in his throat, knowing he could just kiss Noah, but unable to lean in and do it. He frowns as Noah smiles, eyes still closed. 

“What?” Dan asks, pulling back a bit. Noah lets the hand on his neck slip down to rest over his heart. He blinks his eyes open and shakes his head.

“Nothing, just—” he lets out a breathy laugh, “—just sometimes still surprised you… want me, I guess…” He trails off and presses his lips lightly to the corner of Dan’s mouth and Dan feels his hand curl gently around the front of Dan’s shirt. He looks at Dan through his lashes, teeth catching his bottom lip round a nervous smile. 

Dan presses his own smile fleetingly against Noah’s, his words falling into Noah’s mouth. “I do,” he says softly. “Want you.” Saying it out loud, seeing Noah react, makes Dan feel warm all over, and suddenly he’s dying to get out of his shirt. He’s _dying_ to kiss Noah, to fall into bed with him, to be surrounded by him, even if all they do is hold each other. It’ll be so different, so much _more_.

Before he even realizes he’s doing it, Dan’s walking Noah backward towards the bed and they stumble over one of Dan’s shoes from the day before, grabbing onto each other to stay upright. By the time they reach the bed, Dan can’t take it anymore. Noah’s hands have slipped beneath the hem of Dan’s shirt and Dan’s hands are sliding up into Noah’s hair. Dan can almost feel Noah’s lips against his, and he leans in, and he’s so close—

“Wait,” Noah says, setting his hand against Dan’s chest. _God_ , at this point Dan doesn’t even know if he _can_ wait. He pulls back, but only an inch. Noah’s open expression starts butterflies up behind his ribs. Noah’s hand presses gently where it lays against Dan’s heart. “This—I… want this for keeps.” He swallows audibly but holds Dan’s gaze, and it’s so _Noah_ to be so vulnerable and still smolder right in his face. Dan takes a deep breath and moves his hands to cup Noah’s face.

“Mmm,” Dan sighs, touching their foreheads together again. “You have it.”

They both lean in this time and Dan expects the first touch of lips to be awkward, or off-center, or wrapped up in a giggle because they’re nervous. But it’s not. 

Noah kisses him full on the mouth, holding him close with his hands on the sides of Dan’s neck, pressing his thumbs into the hinge of Dan’s jaw. Dan feels frantic, gasping into Noah’s mouth, wrapping his arms around Noah’s waist and clenching his fists in the fabric of his t-shirt. He wants more, opens his mouth against Noah’s, licks at his lips and lets out a throaty noise, hoping it gets his point across.

It must not land, because he feels Noah’s fingers along his jaw, brushing up to his cheek, holding him in place. Noah pulls back, less than an inch, and Dan feels _desperate_. Doesn’t Noah _want_ to kiss him forever?

“Noah,” he breathes. “Just—”

Noah kisses him, lush and deep, but it’s over way too quickly. “I am,” he says, and leans in again. He soothes Dan with another kiss, licking into Dan’s mouth so briefly that Dan whines when he pulls back. Dan blinks his eyes open to glare, and Noah is grinning at him, mouth pink and eyes dark.

Dan narrows his eyes. “Is it possible for you to not be a troll for maybe five minutes so we can have a sexy makeout session?” Dan gives a little shimmy on sexy, he can’t help himself, and also Noah admitted once that he likes it.

Noah pulls back further to laugh, and Dan feels him shake in his arms, and although he’s officially offended, he can’t bring himself to care much. “Yes, this is very hilarious. Here I was thinking you were desperate to kiss me.” Dan’s voice does something weird on the last few words, and he thought he was kidding, but the way Noah’s face changes, gets serious, makes him think the joke didn’t land. 

“Dan, I’ve been desperate to kiss you as you for three years,” Noah says urgently. “You have to know that.”

“Hmm,” Dan hums noncommittally. 

“It’s just that teasing you—”

“—Mmhmm—”

“—is the most fun I ever have—”

“—Mm—”

“—and I just feel like incorporating that into—”

“—Mm, okay let’s just—” Dan kisses him then, to shut him up, of course, but mostly because his mouth looks kissable and soft and Dan knows that it _is_. So he leans in and cuts off Noah’s monologue, walking them a few more feet until Noah hits the bed and sits, pulling Dan with him. 

_This_ part is awkward, full of too many limbs for just two people, Dan thinks, but they manage to get half-undressed and under the sheets with minimal breaks in kissing. Noah’s shirtless, and Dan can’t stop running his hand up his forearms and over his shoulders and down the front of his chest, bending his fingers to scratch lightly over spots he thinks might be sensitive. 

Noah’s hands are buried in Dan’s hair, and he’s holding fistfuls that he tugs gently every now and then, to turn Dan’s head and get Dan’s mouth where he wants it. Dan goes willingly, sucking Noah’s tongue into his mouth, gasping against his lips, groaning at the feeling of Noah’s five o’clock shadow scraping against his own hypersensitive mouth. 

“Dan,” Noah whispers, and he’s been doing that since Dan kissed him, murmuring his name into the skin of Dan’s throat, his shoulder, his jaw. Dan feels like a live wire, two ends sparking together every time Noah touches him, or kisses him, or gasps out his name, his voice slipping over the syllable and all the way into Dan’s chest. 

Dan just makes a noise of agreement, a general, ‘yes, please, now,’ that he tries to convey without words. He doesn’t even know what he wants, just that it’s more and it’s this. He laughs breathily when Noah’s hands find his ass, slipping beneath the waist of his underwear. 

“Shit,” Noah whispers, pulling his hands away and staring at Dan with wide eyes. They’re still illuminated by the low light of the bedside lamp, concerned and hopeful and— “Is this okay?” He asks, fingertips dancing along the top of the waistband. “I didn't—don’t—want to assume.”

Dan leans in to press a kiss to Noah’s nose. “It’s okay,” he says, and lets his lips trail down Noah’s cheek, across to his ear. “Very okay,” he whispers, and brings his own hand down to Noah’s thigh. He leans back to catch Noah’s gaze, raising an eyebrow.

Noah nods. “Uh huh,” he sighs, and dips his hands back into Dan’s briefs as Dan slides his hand up into the leg of Noah’s, fingers curving tentatively over an ass cheek. Dan gives it a light squeeze, grinning into Noah’s shoulder at the broken groan that spills from his lips. 

Nosing at Dan’s cheek, Noah asks, “What do you want?” He turns his head to press a tender kiss to his open mouth. 

Dan—he wants everything. And Noah… Noah makes him feel like he can _have_ everything. So much that he doesn’t feel like he needs to rush through anything, that they can take their time, that Dan can stare into Noah’s eyes for hours still—he won’t run out of time. 

He catches Noah’s gaze when his eyes flutter open, and he bites his lip to contain way-too-honest words threatening to jump out of his mouth into the delicate space between them.

“What?” Noah grins, can obviously tell when Dan’s holding something back, _damn him_ for being so observant, for _knowing_ Dan so well, Dan figures there’s no use in making something up—it wouldn’t be fair and Noah would see right through him anyway. 

“Just—just want this—here,” he whispers. 

Noah nods. “Me too.” He kisses Dan again, slowly, like the first time, but he’s not teasing. Everything is slow and melty and delicious, and Dan feels like he’s floating as Noah pulls him closer by the hips. They both moan, a feedback loop of vibration between them, and Dan loses time, then. Loses time between dreamy kisses and roaming hands and skimming fingertips; loses time to Noah’s lips and tongue and sighs and gasps, the scrape of his teeth and the pressure of his fingers on Dan’s hip bones. 

After he pulls away wincing from Noah’s stubble for the third time, Noah says, “We should get ready for bed,” lips pressed all the way up against Dan’s. 

“No, I want to stay here forever,” Dan mumbles back, biting lightly at Noah’s bottom lip.

Noah’s breath puffs across his cheek in a gentle laugh. “We’ll come back.”

“Promise?” Dan says softly. 

Noah kisses his forehead. “Promise.”

*

The next morning, Dan is startled awake when a sleeping Noah smacks him right in the face as he apparently flops over onto his front. Dan can’t see Noah’s face around the unusually fluffy hotel blanket, but the snore he lets out tells Dan enough. 

He rubs his cheek where Noah made contact and rolls his eyes. Sleeping in the same bed all the time should be interesting, he thinks, and then freezes. He blinks, lets his mind drift carefully back to that terrifying thought. 

The thought of “all the time” so soon should be startling, enough to send him fleeing to the bathroom to hyperventilate in front of a mirror. Has _all the time_ ever been a good thing, historically? His mind starts flashing back to some of the more dramatic ways he’s managed to screw up his _all the time_ relationships, but before he gets to the truly traumatic ones, Noah flails around once more.

He’s still sleeping, as far as Dan can tell, but he’s taken it upon himself to make sure Dan is as close as possible, draping his arm over Dan’s middle and tugging him close until his back is pressed against Noah’s chest. 

Dan feels Noah make grumbly, snuffly noises against the back of his neck, and he presses his uncontrollable grin into the inside of his bicep where his hand is tucked up under his pillow. 

Noah’s breath is warm and kinda gross-damp, but Dan keeps smiling anyway, as Noah’s hand pushes clumsily under his t-shirt, warm against the skin of his belly. 

He snoozes lightly, blinking awake every time Noah snorts against his shoulder or squeezes him too tightly during what must be an exciting dream. Just when he thinks he’s going to have to get up to pee, Noah starts pressing tiny kisses to the skin he can reach. Dan feels him rubbing his nose at the collar of his shirt, trying to nudge it out of the way to touch his warm lips to the skin of Dan’s shoulder. 

“Mmm,” Dan hums.

“Hadda dream about you,” Noah mumbles. “You… weird,” is all he says to sum it up. 

“Not sure how to take that but okay,” Dan replies softly, grabbing Noah’s hand where it rests on his stomach. 

Noah sighs and it makes Dan shiver in his arms. “ ‘Sgood. Hold you like this,” he continues, and Dan furrows his brow. Noah squeezes him again.

“Uh…huh,” Dan responds. “Good…?”

“Yeah, good,” Noah says, and his voice trails off, and Dan thinks he’s fallen back asleep and readies himself to slip out of bed and into the bathroom. “Weird ‘cause you’re here. Don’t need dream.” Noah rubs his face roughly against Dan’s back, snuffling loudly again. 

Dan opens his mouth to tell Noah to stop being so fucking adorable at this time of day, but Noah speaks first. “Huh?” He says, and he sounds like he’s just woken up. Dan feels him pull his arm away and lean up on one elbow. “Did you say something?” 

Dan bites his lip. Should he say? Will Noah be embarrassed? Will Noah tell Dan it didn’t mean anything?

He doesn’t get to decide, because Noah’s tugging on his shoulder, pulling him to lay flat on the bed, and settling himself on top, tucking close under Dan’s arm. “I had the best dream,” he says, snuggling in closer. Dan lays a tentative hand on Noah’s shoulder and Noah wraps an arm around Dan’s torso. “We were on _vacation_ and we were in this amazing hotel room with really great views, and we were cuddling in bed and—”

“You mean like right now,” Dan teases. 

Noah lifts his head to look Dan in the eyes. “Dan, we’re in Canada, we're not on vacation. You haven’t taken a vacation in years.”

“Okay, good point, go on.”

“That’s it. Just—us being together,” Noah finishes, ducking his head now, burying it in the crook of Dan’s neck.

“ _That’s_ the best dream?” Dan asks, mildly incredulous. Noah leans up to look at him again. 

“Obviously? That’s all I want.” Noah shrugs. “I _mean—_ ” He gives a nervous laugh and Dan can see a blush appear high on his cheeks. “Not gonna say no to, like, another acting gig in your next project, but…” 

Dan’s been smiling for five whole minutes, his cheeks are going to start hurting, but he smiles impossibly wider at the earnest look on Noah’s face. “What?” Noah asks, pulling his brows down.

“You make me very happy, Noah Reid,” Dan says, and he’s _not_ going to get emotional about the way Noah’s face _lights up._ He smiles brightly at Dan and leans in for a quick, chaste kiss. 

“Good. I want that, too,” he murmurs. Dan blinks away definitely-not-tears and fits his hand around the back of Noah’s neck to pull him in for a kiss that lasts the rest of the morning.   
  
  



End file.
